A Circular Reeducation
by Lacanthrope
Summary: Do they get vitamin D in space?


It was a surprise. Not a good one, like when you're knife is faster than the other fucker's, but one where it was the other way around. Nobody liked those kinds of surprises but it wasn't like they'd be called surprises if you guessed when they were coming.

Cain wasn't sure if this even counted as a surprise, but since he didn't see this coming, it had to be. There wasn't really another word for it, at least one he could think of.

It had started out like another fucking fight. Some asshole had said too much shit one too many times and then it had been Cain's turn to return the favour. But this time had been different. This time he didn't have Deimos to back him up. All he had was Abel breathing down his neck, stepping too close to him, and nagging on about calming down or some shit.

Nobody fought in front of navigators because they were always such fucking cowards. Always running to the closest MP and getting shit put on your file. And nobody fought in front of their own navigators because as much as you wanted them under your boot, it wasn't worth letting them see enough of your real self to get a transfer.

That was the fucking theory at least.

Then the fucker had swung wide and it all turned into the usual blur of fists and feet. Cain had almost got the fucker right where he wanted him. The blood on his knuckles was from the fuck's dented nose instead of his and he knew he had broken at least a couple of ribs. But then there had been the glint of light on metal and the sharp edge of the fucker's blade had slid right through his skin. It wasn't deep, just a scratch compared to the rest of the scars, but it had been enough to drop Cain for a moment. Then there had been the knee to the side of his head and no matter how much that happened he never got used to it.

Up until then, this entire bullshit hadn't been a surprise. Just a fucking song and dance all the idiots on this tin can played too much.

Just as the fucker was closing back in to really fuck shit up, there was the sound of Abel's boots on the grating.

Then he was standing between the two of them like an idiot.

"That's enough!"

It didn't take a team of navigators to figure out the fear in his voice. Even the fucking idiot standing in front of them knew it. The fucker snarled and shoved Abel out of the way and into the wall. Fucking navigators.

Cain got to his feet and snarled. But nobody fucked around with a navigator that wasn't theirs.

But just as Cain was getting ready to pummel the shit out of the stupid fuck, a panel of glass shattered over the fucker's head. The glass dropping to the floor was like rain on a tin roof. Why that came to him right then was also a surprise. He had never heard the sound of rain before, only what his mother had described it as.

It wasn't until the fucker dropped to the floor that Cain realized where it had come from. Abel was standing behind him, his hands still outstretched from where he had slammed his fucking tablet into the fucker's head.

They stood in silence for too long and something about the blood on Abel's uniform made Cain feel strange. Then Abel stumbled backwards and had the nerve to look surprised.

"Oh-"

His hands flew up to his mouth and his eyebrows popped up.

"Oh!"

He went as white as the clean parts of his uniform.

This was why navigators weren't put into combat training.

Cain grabbed Abel and hauled him down the corridor. He could feel Abel shaking and his strides getting sloppy.

"Oh my-"

"Just shut up."

Cain ground out his words through his clenched teeth. Someone would be walking in on that little scene back there and there was no way he was getting caught again.

When Cain finally punched the door open and shoved Abel inside, he started to feel the adrenaline wear-out. Every part of him ached. The cut on his side had just begun to harden and the bloody parts of his shirt had stuck themselves on his skin. All he wanted to do was rip off his shirt, shower, fuck, and sleep.

Abel was still standing in the middle of the room like an idiot and it wasn't until Cain ripped off his bloody jacket that he moved. He turned his big eyes at Cain and blinked a few times like he just realized Cain was standing there. He looked down at his bloody jacket in Cain's hands then back at Cain's face like some wide-eyed recruit. Cain chucked the jacket into a corner.

"What the hell was that?"

Abel shook his head like when he stayed up too long working on some engine bullshit and his face went back to normal.

"I don't know."

Cain didn't even know why he gave a shit. If a navigator wanted to step in the way, it was their own fucking fault if they got burned. But Cain had had the whole thing under control and Abel had leapt in like he was going to do something useful besides getting himself gutted.

"Next time you see anything like that go down, just get the fuck out."

Abel huffed, his hair floating into the air. He was getting into one of his prissy moods again.

"And leave you to get your ass kicked. Sure thing."

"I had it."

"Sure didn't look like it-"

Cain growled and his eyes narrowed. Such a smug fucking look and Cain wasn't sure if he wanted to fuck or tear it off Abel's face. The look disappeared when he gazed down at Cain's side.

"-and you're bleeding all over the floor."

Cain didn't have to follow Abel's look. Just watched Abel's eyes get soft and too big. He let Abel pull him over to their bed. As much as he wanted to throttle the skinny blonde's neck, sometimes Abel needed to fuss over something, make himself feel useful.

Cain let out a hiss as Abel lifted his arm and prodded at the cut. Probably take at least a week and a half to heal. Not as long as broken ribs though.

"You could have just let it go you know."

Cain glanced down at Abel's blonde head of hair. The idiot still didn't get it.

"You could've stayed out of it."

Abel sighed but Cain could of sworn he saw a smile.

"It doesn't look too deep. I'll clean and wrap it."

Normally none of the teams had medical kits in their rooms, that's what medical bay was for. But one day Cain had dragged himself back here and Abel had been sitting reading, a small assortment of medical supplies waiting on the desk. It was better than all the bullshit questions at medical so Cain hadn't asked how or why they were there.

Cain carefully lifted his shirt over the wound and tossed the bloody shirt into the corner. Why he was letting his navigator fuss over him was another surprise to add to the growing list of fucking surprises today. But Abel was always less annoying when he had a task to think about rather than letting all of his feelings run all over the place.

Abel sat back down beside Cain and paused for too long. Cain shot him a look and Abel was looking down at the gauze and rubbing alcohol in his hands.

"I'm waiting, princess."

Abel glanced back up and blushed as he went to work on Cain's side. His hands were warm but they were shaking more than usual. Cain tried not to hiss when the sting of the alcohol shot over his skin. Just another fucking pain that was impossible to get used to.

"Do you think-"

Cain glanced down at Abel's blond head then back at the wall. Didn't want to listen to it, but it didn't mean he wasn't going to hear it.

"-he'll be ok?"

Cain snorted and winced.

"Don't know, don't care."

Abel sat up and frowned.

"How can you say that? Don't you care about your other fighters?"

Did they live in fucking bubbles on Earth? This was war. Nobody gave a shit about anyone else.

"Couldn't give any less of a fuck. And don't think for a second that fucker didn't feel the same."

Abel bit something back and started to bandage around Cain's waist. Cain could smell his sweat and the leftovers of fear every time he leaned in. He could even smell the small traces of blood underneath it all and he felt his lip twitch in disgust. Maybe it was from the smell, or maybe it was from the annoyance that he had let his navigator defend him. Or maybe it was the memory of walking around the corner earlier and seeing that fucker holding his navigator against the wall and the first thing Cain thought of was the first time he had slammed a crowbar into the side of someone's head.

Either way, feelings were navigators' territory, not his. So he sat silently, trying to crush all the weird sensations in his chest into a compact, concentrated ball of nothing.

At some point Abel finished bandaging and his hands moved from Cain's side and rested on his thigh, his head against Cain's shoulder. He couldn't stop his own head from resting against the mess of blonde and breathing in the scent. Kind of what he imagined rain to smell like.

"Cain?"

He grunted and slid his arm around Abel's skinny waist. Abel shifted his face so Cain could feel his hot breath against his skin.

"Thanks."

Then Abel's lips brushed across Cain's cheek and before Cain could blink like an idiot, Abel settled back against his side.

If all surprises were like that, then maybe he could get used to them.

**A/N**- Instead of doing all the things I needed to get done (Pretty Lights and other life stuff), I woke up at 5am and wrote this. I blame the early morning air for causing irreversible damage to the dark part of my mind and making me write the happiest thing I've ever been capable of.


End file.
